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The next invasion came immediately in 205 BC by a king named , who overthrew and ruled the country for 44 years. Members are elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term. Eligible Lanka for Matrimony and Matchmaking Our members represent a broad cross section of backgrounds, lifestyles, ages and experiences. A Critical History of Jaffna.\
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The president's deputy, theleads the in parliament and shares many executive responsibilities, mainly in domestic affairs. The total glad of the three services is around 259,000 personnel, with nearly 36,000 reserves. While ensuring that it maintains its independence, Sri Lanka has cultivated. During the medieval period, Sri Lanka was divided into three sub-territories, namelyPihiti and. Sri Lanka's ecosystem spans over 7,000 and met a vital role in buffering the force of the waves in the. Thedrafted by the in 1931, enabled with adult universal adult voting in the country. Retrieved 15 July 2014. Thomlin at Galle in 1911 and is now preserved in the. The launch was met in the presence of CEO MillenniumIT Mack Gill, Chairman Chandula Abeywickrema and Board Members of CSR Sri Lanka, H. An education system which dictates 9 years of for every child matchmaking in sri lanka in place. They are, thelow country dances and dances. Average yearly temperatures medico from 28 °C 82.

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Website You may need to display the in this article correctly. It is separated from the by the and the. The , , is a suburb of the commercial capital and largest city,. Sri Lanka's documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. It has a rich cultural heritage and the first known writings of Sri Lanka, the , date back to the in 29 BC. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient through to the modern. Sri Lanka was known from the as Ceylon , US also. A nationalist political movement arose in the country in the early 20th century to obtain political independence, which was granted in 1948; the country became a and adopted its current name in 1972. Sri Lanka's recent history has been marred by a 30-year , which decisively ended when the defeated the LTTE in 2009. However, the UN Human Rights Council has documented over 12,000 named individuals who have undergone disappearance after detention by security forces in Sri Lanka, the second highest figure in the world since the Working Group came into being in 1980. In March 2009, 378 people had been killed in one day and at least another 1,212 injured. The report was based only on those casualties brought to the hospital. It has had a long history of international engagement, as a founding member of the SAARC , and a member of the , the , the , and the. Buddhism is given special privileges in the Sri Lankan constitution. The island is home to many cultures, languages and ethnicities. The majority of the population is from the , while a large minority of have also played an influential role in the island's history. Main article: In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names. The Tamil term : ஈழம், translit. Ancient Greek geographers called it : Ταπροβανᾶ or Taprobanē Ταπροβανῆ from the word Tambapanni. As a , the island was known as ; it achieved independence as the in 1948. As the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority. Main article: The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years and possibly even as far back as 500,000 years. The era spans the , and early. Among the human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, named after the traveller , which dates back to 37,000 BP, 28,500 BP and 12,000 BP are the most important. In these caves, archaeologists have found the remains of modern which they have named , and other evidence suggesting that they may have engaged in and kept domestic dogs for driving game. One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian , which provides details of a kingdom named that was created by the divine sculptor for , the Lord of Wealth. It is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother , the powerful emperor who built a mythical named. The modern city of is described as Ravana's airport. Early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the , an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. The 19th-century Irish historian theorized that , a city in southern Sri Lanka, was the ancient seaport of from which is said to have drawn , , and other valuables. Pre-Anuradhapura period Main article: According to the , a chronicle written in , the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the and. Ancient cemeteries that were used before 600 and other signs of advanced civilization has also been discovered in Sri Lanka. Sinhalese history traditionally starts in 543 BC with the arrival of , a semi-legendary prince who sailed with 700 followers to Sri Lanka, after being expelled from present-day. He established the , near modern-day. Vijaya Singha is the first of the approximately 189 native of Sri Lanka described in chronicles such as the , Mahāvaṃsa, , and Rājāvaliya see. Sri Lankan dynastic history ended in 1815, when the island became part of the. Anuradhapura period The , a 12 metres 39 ft tall standing Buddha statue from the reign of , 5th century The was established in 380 BC during the reign of. Thereafter, Anuradhapura served as the of the country for nearly 1,400 years. Ancient Sri Lankans excelled at building certain types of structures such as , and palaces. Society underwent a major transformation during the reign of , with the arrival of from India. In 250 BC, , the son of the Emperor and a Buddhist monk arrived in carrying the message of Buddhism. His mission won over the monarch, who embraced the faith and propagated it throughout the. Succeeding kingdoms of Sri Lanka would maintain a large number of and monasteries and support the propagation of Buddhism into other countries in. Sri Lankan Bhikkhus studied in India's famous ancient Buddhist University of , which was destroyed by. It is probable that many of the scriptures from Nalanda are preserved in Sri Lanka's many monasteries and that the written form of the , including Sinhalese Buddhist literature, were part of the University of Nalanda. In 245 BC, arrived with the tree, which is considered to be a sapling from the historical under which became enlightened. It is considered the oldest human-planted tree with a continuous historical record in the world. Invasions Sri Lanka first experienced a foreign invasion during the reign of , who was defeated by two horse traders named from. The next invasion came immediately in 205 BC by a king named , who overthrew and ruled the country for 44 years. He built , the second stupa in ancient Sri Lanka, and the. During its two and a half millennia of existence, the Kingdom of Sri Lanka was invaded at least eight times by neighbouring South Asian dynasties such as the , , , and. These invaders were all subsequently driven back. There also were incursions by the kingdoms of modern and from the as well. Fourth Buddhist Council of Ceylon, first century AD, in a 1535 publication The Fourth Buddhist council of was held at the in Sri Lanka under the patronage of in 25 BC. The council was held in response to a year in which the harvests in Sri Lanka were particularly poor and many subsequently died of starvation. Because the was at that time maintained in several recensions by dhammabhāṇakas reciters , the surviving monks recognized the danger of not writing it down so that even if some of the monks whose duty it was to study and remember parts of the Canon for later generations died, the teachings would not be lost. After the Council, containing the completed Canon were taken to other countries such as , , and. Later periods rock fortress in , 5th century Sri Lanka was the first Asian country known to have a female ruler: r. The Sigiriya rock fortress is surrounded by an extensive network of ramparts and moats. Inside this protective enclosure were gardens, ponds, pavilions, palaces and other structures. The 1,600-year-old Sigiriya frescoes are an example of ancient Sri Lankan art at its finest. They are one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning in the world. They have been declared by as one of the seven World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka. Among other structures, large , important for conserving water in a climate with rainy and dry seasons, and elaborate , some with a slope as finely calibrated as one inch to the mile, are most notable. Biso Kotuwa, a peculiar construction inside a , is a technological marvel based on precise that allows water to flow outside the dam, keeping pressure on the dam to a minimum. Ancient Sri Lanka was the first country in the world to establish a dedicated hospital, in in the 4th century. It was also the leading exporter of in the ancient world. It maintained close ties with European civilisations including the. For example, Bhatikabhaya 22 BC — AD 7 sent an envoy to Rome who brought back , which was used to make an elaborate netlike adornment for the. In addition, Sri Lankan male dancers witnessed the assassination of Caligula. When Queen Cleopatra sent her son into hiding, he was headed to Sri Lanka. The for Buddhist nuns first arrived in China when Devasāra and ten other bhikkhunis came from Sri Lanka at the request of Chinese women and established the order there in 429. Polonnaruwa and transitional periods Main articles: and The medieval period of Sri Lanka begins with the fall of. In AD 993, the invasion of forced the then Sri Lankan ruler to flee to the southern part of Sri Lanka. Taking advantage of this situation, , son of Rajaraja I, launched a large invasion in 1017. Mahinda V was captured and taken to India, and the Cholas. Subsequently, they moved the capital to. This marked the end of the two great dynasties of ancient Sri Lanka, the Moriya and the Lambakanna. Following a seventeen-year-long campaign, successfully drove the Chola out of Sri Lanka in 1070, reuniting the country for the first time in over a century. Upon his request, ordained monks were sent from to Sri Lanka to re-establish Buddhism, which had almost disappeared from the country during the Chola reign. During the medieval period, Sri Lanka was divided into three sub-territories, namely , Pihiti and. A Buddhist statue in the ancient capital city of , 12th century Sri Lanka's was extensively expanded during the reign of 1153—1186. This period is considered as a time when Sri Lanka was at the height of its power. He built 1470 reservoirs — the highest number by any ruler in Sri Lanka's history — repaired 165 dams, 3910 canals, 163 major reservoirs, and 2376 mini-reservoirs. His most famous construction is the , the largest irrigation project of medieval Sri Lanka. Parākramabāhu's reign is memorable for two major campaigns — in the south of India as part of a Pandyan war of succession, and a punitive strike against the kings of Ramanna for various perceived insults to Sri Lanka. After his demise, Sri Lanka gradually decayed in power. In 1215, , a South Indian with uncertain origins, identified as the founder of the Jaffna kingdom, invaded and captured the. He sailed from 690 nautical miles on 100 large ships with a 24,000 strong army. Unlike previous invaders, he , ransacked, and destroyed everything in the ancient Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Kingdoms beyond recovery. His priorities in ruling were to extract as much as possible from the land and overturn as many of the traditions of as possible. His reign saw the massive migration of native to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, in a bid to escape his power. Sri Lanka never really recovered from the impact of Kalinga Magha's invasion. King Vijayabâhu III, who led the resistance, brought the kingdom to. The north, in the meanwhile, eventually evolved into the. The Jaffna kingdom never came under the rule of any kingdom of the south except on one occasion; in 1450, following the conquest led by king 's adopted son,. He ruled the North from AD 1450 to 1467. The next three centuries starting from 1215 were marked by kaleidoscopically shifting collections of kingdoms in south and central Sri Lanka, including Dambadeniya, , , , , , and finally,. Chinese admiral and his naval expeditionary force landed at Galle, Sri Lanka in 1409 and got into with the local king. Zheng He captured King Vira Alakesvara and later released him. Zheng He erected the , a stone tablet at written in three , , and , to commemorate his visit. The was discovered by S. Thomlin at Galle in 1911 and is now preserved in the. Kandyan period A 17th-century painting of Dutch explorer meeting with King Vimaladharmasuriya in 1602 The early modern period of Sri Lanka begins with the arrival of soldier and explorer , the son of , in 1505. In 1517, the Portuguese built a fort at the port city of and gradually extended their control over the coastal areas. In 1592, after decades of intermittent warfare with the Portuguese, moved his kingdom to the inland city of , a location he thought more secure from attack. In 1619, succumbing to attacks by the Portuguese, the independent existence of came to an end. During the reign of the , explorers arrived on the island. In 1638, the king signed a with the to get rid of the Portuguese who ruled most of the coastal areas. The following resulted in a Dutch victory, with Colombo falling into Dutch hands by 1656. The Dutch remained in the areas they had captured, thereby violating the treaty they had signed in 1638. An ethnic group named emerged in Sri Lankan society as a result of. The Kingdom of Kandy was the last independent monarchy of Sri Lanka. In 1595, Vimaladharmasurya brought the sacred — the traditional symbol of royal and religious authority amongst the — to Kandy, and built the. In spite of on-going intermittent warfare with Europeans, the kingdom survived. Later, a crisis of succession emerged in Kandy upon king 's death in 1739. He was married to a -speaking princess from South India and was childless by her. The new king was crowned later that year. Kings of the Nayakkar dynasty launched several attacks on Dutch controlled areas, which proved to be unsuccessful. British rule , the last ruling Sri Lankan monarch During the , fearing that control of the might deliver Sri Lanka to the French, occupied the coastal areas of the island which they Ceylon with little difficulty in 1796. Two years later, in 1798, , third of the four Nayakkar kings of Sri Lanka, died of a fever. Following his death, a nephew of Rajadhi Rajasinha, eighteen-year-old Kannasamy, was crowned. The young king, now named , faced a invasion in 1803 but successfully retaliated. By then the entire coastal area was under the as a result of the. On 14 February 1815, was occupied by the British in the , ending Sri Lanka's independence. Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, the last native monarch of Sri Lanka, was exiled to India. The formally ceded the entire country to the British Empire. Attempts by Sri Lankan noblemen to undermine British power in 1818 during the were thwarted by. The beginning of the modern period of Sri Lanka is marked by the of 1833. They introduced a and political culture to the country based on the and amalgamated the Kandyan and maritime provinces as a single unit of government. An and a were established, later becoming the foundation of a representative legislature. By this time, experiments with plantations were largely successful. Soon coffee became the primary commodity export of Sri Lanka. Falling coffee prices as a result of the stalled economic development and prompted the governor to introduce a series of taxes on firearms, dogs, shops, boats, etc. These harsh measures antagonised the locals, and broke out in 1848. A devastating leaf disease, , struck the coffee plantations in 1869, destroying the entire industry within fifteen years. The British quickly found a replacement: abandoning coffee, they began cultivating tea instead. Large-scale rubber plantations began in the early 20th century. British appointed Kandyan chiefs, 1905 By the end of the 19th century, a new educated transcending race and arose through British attempts to staff the and the legal, educational, and medical professions. New leaders represented the various ethnic groups of the population in the on a communal basis. Buddhist and Hindu revivalism reacted against activities. The first two decades in the 20th century are noted by the unique harmony among Sinhalese and political leadership, which has since been lost. In 1919, major Sinhalese and Tamil political organisations united to form the Ceylon National Congress, under the leadership of , pressing colonial masters for more constitutional reforms. The of 1931 repudiated the communal representation and introduced the franchise stood at 4% before the reforms. This step was strongly criticised by the Tamil political leadership, who realised that they would be reduced to a minority in the newly created , which succeeded the legislative council. In 1937, Tamil leader demanded a 50—50 representation 50% for the Sinhalese and 50% for other ethnic groups in the State Council. However, this demand was not met by the of 1944—45. Modern Sri Lanka The formal ceremony marking the start of self-rule, with the opening of the first parliament at The Soulbury constitution ushered in , with independence proclaimed on 4 February 1948. Prominent leaders including Ponnambalam and joined his cabinet. The remained stationed at until 1956. A countrywide popular demonstration against withdrawal of the rice ration, known as , resulted in the resignation of prime minister. He introduced the controversial , recognising as the only official language of the government. Although partially reversed in 1958, the bill posed a grave concern for the Tamil community, which perceived in it a threat to their language and culture. The FP launched a movement of non-violent resistance against the bill, which prompted Bandaranaike to reach an agreement with , leader of the FP, to resolve the looming ethnic conflict. The pact proved ineffective in the face of ongoing protests by opposition and the Buddhist clergy. The bill, together with various government , contributed much towards the political rancour between Sinhalese and Tamil political leaders. Bandaranaike was by an extremist Buddhist monk in 1959. During her second term as prime minister, the government instituted socialist economic policies, strengthening ties with the and , while promoting a policy of non-alignment. In 1971, Ceylon experienced a , which was quickly suppressed. In 1972, the country became a named Sri Lanka, repudiating its dominion status. Prolonged minority grievances and the use of communal emotionalism as an election campaign weapon by both Sinhalese and Tamil leaders abetted a fledgling Tamil militancy in the north during the 1970s. The by the Sirimavo government to rectify disparities created in university enrolment, which was in essence an to assist geographically disadvantaged students to obtain tertiary education, resulted in reducing the proportion of Tamil students at university level and acted as the immediate catalyst for the rise of militancy. The assassination of in 1975 by the LTTE marked a crisis point. The government of swept to power in 1977, defeating the largely unpopular government. Jayawardene introduced a , together with a and a powerful modelled after that of France. It made Sri Lanka the first country to its economy. Beginning in 1983, ethnic tensions were manifested in an against the government by the LTTE. An LTTE attack on 13 soldiers resulted in the anti-Tamil in July 1983, allegedly backed by ministers, which resulted in more than 150,000 Tamil civilians fleeing the island, seeking asylum in other countries. Lapses in foreign policy resulted in India strengthening the Tigers by providing arms and training. In 1987, the was signed and the IPKF was deployed in northern Sri Lanka to stabilise the region by neutralising the LTTE. The same year, the launched its in Southern Sri Lanka, necessitating redeployment of the IPKF in 1990. In October 1990, the LTTE Muslims by religion from northern Sri Lanka. In 2002, the Sri Lankan government and LTTE signed a Norwegian-mediated ceasefire agreement. From 1985 to 2006, the Sri Lankan government and Tamil insurgents held four rounds of peace talks without success. Both LTTE and the government resumed fighting in 2006, and the government officially backed out of the ceasefire in 2008. In 2009, under the of , the defeated the LTTE and re-established control of the entire country by the Sri Lankan Government. Overall, between 60,000 and 100,000 people were killed during the 26 years of conflict. Forty thousand Tamil civilians in the final phases of the , according to an Expert Panel convened by. The exact number of Tamils killed is still a speculation that needs further study. Following the LTTE's defeat, the , the largest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka, dropped its demand for a in favour of a solution. The final stages of the war left some 294,000 people displaced. According to the Ministry of Resettlement, most of the displaced persons had been released or returned to their places of origin, leaving only 6,651 in the camps as of December 2011. In May 2010, President Rajapaksa appointed the LLRC to assess the conflict between the time of the ceasefire agreement in 2002 and the defeat of the LTTE in 2009. Sri Lanka has emerged from its 26-year war to become one of the of the world. Lifting of the unofficial ban on the Tamil version had been approved by President who had said he would unite the nation after the nearly 26-year civil war that ended in 2009 and by others in the government. This step was viewed as part of the plan for reconciliation. Other steps are also being taken to mend ethnic divisions between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority, according to a November 2016 article in. Some groups, and Sri Lanka's former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, were opposed to the government officially allowing the Tamil version to be sung. Topographic map of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka lies on the , a major that was formerly part of the. It is in the Indian Ocean southwest of the , between latitudes and , and longitudes and. Sri Lanka is separated from the mainland portion of the by the and. According to , existed between the Indian mainland and Sri Lanka. It now amounts to only a chain of limestone shoals remaining above. Legends claim that it was passable on foot up to 1480 AD, until deepened the channel. Portions are still as shallow as 1 metre 3 ft , hindering navigation. The island consists mostly of flat to rolling coastal plains, with mountains rising only in the south-central part. The highest point is , reaching 2,524 metres 8,281 ft above sea level. A view of from Sri Lanka has 103 rivers. The longest of these is the , extending 335 kilometres 208 mi. These waterways give rise to 51 natural waterfalls of 10 meters or more. The highest is , with a height of 263 metres 863 ft. Sri Lanka's coastline is 1,585 km long. Sri Lanka claims an EEZ extending 200 , which is approximately 6. The coastline and adjacent waters support highly productive marine ecosystems such as and shallow beds of coastal and. Sri Lanka has 45 and 40. Sri Lanka's ecosystem spans over 7,000 and played a vital role in buffering the force of the waves in the. The island is rich in minerals such as , , , , , and. Existence of and gas in the has also been confirmed and the extraction of recoverable quantities is underway. Climate Sri Lanka map of Köppen climate classification The climate is and warm, due to the moderating effects of ocean winds. Mean temperatures range from 17 °C 62. Average yearly temperatures range from 28 °C 82. Day and night temperatures may vary by 14 °C 25. Rainfall pattern is influenced by winds from the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. The arid northwest and southeast coasts receive the least amount of rain at 800 to 1,200 mm 31 to 47 in per year. Periodic squalls occur and sometimes bring overcast skies and rains to the southwest, northeast, and eastern parts of the island. Humidity is typically higher in the southwest and mountainous areas and depends on the seasonal patterns of rainfall. An increase in average rainfall coupled with heavier rainfall events has resulted in recurrent flooding and related damages to infrastructure, utility supply and the urban economy. Flora and fauna The is one of three recognised of the. The 2011 elephant census estimated a population of 5,879. Lying within the , Sri Lanka is one of 25 in the world. Although the country is relatively small in size, it has the highest density in Asia. A remarkably high proportion of the species among its flora and fauna, 27% of the 3,210 and 22% of the see , are. Sri Lanka has declared 24 wildlife reserves, which are home to a wide range of native species such as , , , the unique small loris, a variety of deer, the , the endangered , and. Flowering flourish on the arid. Among the trees of the dry-land forests are valuable species such as , , , and. The wet zone is a tropical with tall trees, broad foliage, and a dense undergrowth of vines and creepers. Subtropical evergreen forests resembling those of flourish in the higher altitudes. Maha rath mala Rhododendron arboreum ssp. The untapped genetic potential of Sinharaja flora is enormous. Of the 211 woody trees and lianas within the reserve, 139 66% are endemic. The total vegetation density, including trees, shrubs, herbs and seedlings, has been estimated at 240,000 individuals per. The Minneriya National Park borders the , which is an important source of water for numerous elephants Elephus maximus inhabiting the surrounding forests. The park also encompasses a range of micro-habitats which include classic dry zone tropical monsoonal evergreen forest, thick stands of giant bamboo, hilly pastures patanas. Sri Lanka is home to over 250 types of resident birds see. It has declared several bird sanctuaries including Kumana. During the Mahaweli Program of the 1970s and 1980s in northern Sri Lanka, the government set aside four areas of land totalling 1,900 km 2 730 sq mi as national parks. Sri Lanka's forest cover, which was around 49% in 1920, had fallen to approximately 24% by 2009. The , near the. It now serves as the 's headquarters. Sri Lanka is the oldest in. The , drafted by the in 1931, enabled with adult universal adult voting in the country. The under the universal adult franchise, held in June 1931, was for the. Sir was elected as Leader of the House. In 1944, the was appointed to draft a new constitution. The draft constitution was enacted in the same year, and Senanayake was appointed Prime Minister following the. The Soulbury constitution ushered in status and granted independence to Sri Lanka in 1948. Political culture The current political culture in Sri Lanka is a contest between two rival coalitions led by the and UPFA , an offspring of SLFP , and the comparatively and pro- UNP. Sri Lanka is essentially a multi-party democracy with many smaller Buddhist, socialist and Tamil nationalist political parties. As of July 2011, the number of registered political parties in the country is 67. Of these, the LSSP , established in 1935, is the oldest. The UNP, established by D. Senanayake in 1946, was until recently the largest single political party. It is the only political group which had representation in all parliaments since independence. SLFP was founded by , who was the of Local Administration before he left the UNP in July 1951. SLFP registered its first victory in 1956, defeating the ruling UNP in. Following the parliamentary election in , became the prime minister and the world's first elected. Bandaranaike, founded the ACTC in 1944. Objecting to Ponnambalam's cooperation with D. Senanayake, a dissident group led by broke away in 1949 and formed the ITAK , also known as the Federal Party, becoming the main Tamil political party in Sri Lanka for next two decades. The Federal Party advocated a more aggressive stance toward the Sinhalese. With the constitutional reforms of 1972, the All Ceylon Tamil Congress ACTC and Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi ITAK created a common front called the Tamil United Front later. Following a period of turbulence as Tamil militants rose to power in the late 1970s, these Tamil political parties were succeeded in October 2001 by the. It endorses leftist policies which are more radical than the traditionalist leftist politics of the LSSP and the. Founded in 1981, the is the largest Muslim political party in Sri Lanka. Government The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Colombo Sri Lanka is a and a which is governed by a , with a mixture of a and a. Most provisions of the constitution can be amended by a in. The amendment of such as the clauses on language, religion, and reference to Sri Lanka as a unitary state require both a two-thirds majority and approval in a nationwide. The President heads the and appoints from elected. The president is immune from legal proceedings while in office with respect to any acts done or omitted to be done by him or her in either an official or private capacity. Following passage of the in 2015, the President has two terms, which previously stood at no term limit. Members are elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term. The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after four and a half years. The parliament reserves the power to make all laws. The president's deputy, the , leads the in parliament and shares many executive responsibilities, mainly in domestic affairs. The highly complex legal system reflects diverse cultural influences. Basic derives from and. Laws pertaining to marriage, divorce, and inheritance are. The President appoints judges to the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the High Courts. A judicial service commission, composed of the and two Supreme Court judges, appoints, transfers, and dismisses lower court judges. Administrative divisions Main article: For administrative purposes, Sri Lanka is divided into nine and twenty-five. Provinces There have been provinces in Sri Lanka since the 19th century, but they had no legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 constitution established provincial councils after several decades of increasing demand for a of the. Each provincial council is an autonomous body not under the authority of any Ministry. Some of its functions had been undertaken by central government ministries, departments, corporations, and statutory authorities, but authority over land and police is not as a rule given to provincial councils. Between 1989 and 2006, the Northern and Eastern provinces were temporarily merged to form the. Prior to 1987, all administrative tasks for the provinces were handled by a civil service which had been in place since. Now each province is administered by a directly elected provincial council: Administrative Divisions of Sri Lanka km 2 sq mi 5,674 2,191 2,556,774 9,996 3,859 1,547,377 10,714 4,137 1,259,421 8,884 3,430 1,060,023 7,812 3,016 2,372,185 4,902 1,893 1,919,478 5,559 2,146 2,465,626 8,488 3,277 1,259,419 3,709 1,432 5,837,294 Districts and local authorities Sri Lanka is also divided into 25. Each district is administered under a. The districts are further subdivided into 256 , and these, in turn, to approximately 14,008 divisions. The Districts are known in Sinhala as Disa and in Tamil as Māwaddam. Originally, a Disa usually rendered into English as Dissavony was a , notably Matale and Uva. A , who is known as District Secretary, administers a district. An aerial view of Southern Province. There are three other types of local authorities: Municipal Councils 18 , Urban councils 13 and Pradeshiya Sabha, also called Pradesha Sabhai 256. Local authorities were originally based on feudal named korale and rata, and were formerly known as 'D. These Divisional Secretariats are currently administered by a 'Divisional Secretary'. Foreign relations President gifting a baby elephant to US President in 1984 Sri Lanka is a founding member of the NAM. While ensuring that it maintains its independence, Sri Lanka has cultivated. Sri Lanka became a member of the in 1955. Today, it is also a member of the , the , the , the , the , and the. One of the two parties that have governed Sri Lanka since its independence, the , has traditionally favoured links with the West, while its left-leaning counterpart, the , has favoured links with the East. Sri Lankan Finance Minister J. Jayewardene, together with then Australian Foreign Minister Sir Percy Spencer, proposed the at the Commonwealth Foreign Minister's Conference held in Colombo in 1950. At the in 1951, while many countries were reluctant, Sri Lanka argued for a free and refused to accept payment of reparations for damage because it believed it would harm Japan's economy. Sri Lanka-China relations started as soon as the was formed in 1949. The two countries signed an important Rice-Rubber Pact in 1952. Sri Lanka played a vital role at the in 1955, which was an important step in the crystallisation of the NAM. The Bandaranaike government of 1956 significantly changed the pro-western policies set by the previous UNP government. It recognised under in 1959. Shortly afterward, Cuba's revolutionary paid a visit to Sri Lanka. The of 1964 and of 1974 were signed between Sri Lankan and Indian leaders in an attempt to solve the over the status of. In 1974, , a small island in , was formally ceded to Sri Lanka. By this time, Sri Lanka was strongly involved in the NAM and held the fifth NAM summit in 1976. The relationship between Sri Lanka and India became tense under the government of. As a result, and subsequently deployed an in 1987. In the present, Sri Lanka enjoys extensive relations with China, , and. Military Branches of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces Flag Ship The , comprising the , the , and the , come under the of the MoD. The total strength of the three services is around 259,000 personnel, with nearly 36,000 reserves. Sri Lanka has not enforced. Paramilitary units include the , the , and the. Since independence in 1948, the primary focus of the armed forces has been internal security, crushing three major insurgencies, two by militants of the and a 30-year-long conflict with the LTTE which has been as a by. The armed forces have been in a continuous mobilised state for the last 30 years. Marking a rare occurrence in modern military history, the Sri Lankan military was able to bring a decisive end to the Sri Lankan Civil War in May 2009. Sri Lanka has claimed to be the first country in the modern world to eradicate on its own soil. The Sri Lankan Armed Forces have engaged in operations since the early 1960s, contributing forces to permanent contingents deployed in several UN peacekeeping missions in , , and. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Sri Lanka became a , famous for its production and export of , and , which remains a trademark national export. The development of modern under British rule raised the strategic importance of the island as a centre of trade. From 1948 to 1977 strongly influenced the government's economic policies. Colonial plantations were dismantled, industries were nationalised and a established. In 1977 the was introduced to the country, incorporating , and the promotion of. While the production and export of tea, rubber, coffee, sugar and other commodities remain important, industrialisation has increased the importance of , , and. The country's main economic sectors are , , , rice production and other agricultural products. In addition to these economic sectors, overseas employment, especially in the , contributes substantially in foreign exchange. As of 2010 , the service sector makes up 60% of GDP, the industrial sector 28%, and the agriculture sector 12%. The private sector accounts for 85% of the economy. India is Sri Lanka's largest trading partner. Economic disparities exist between the provinces, with the contributing 45. With the end of the war, the reported a record 22. Sri Lanka's most widely known export, , which considers the cleanest tea in the world in terms of pesticide residues. Sri Lanka is also the world's 2nd largest exporter of tea. The per capita income of Sri Lanka has doubled since 2005. During the same period, poverty has dropped from 15. Over 90% of the households in Sri Lanka are electrified. Income inequality has also dropped in recent years, indicated by a of 0. Sri Lanka's cellular subscriber base has shown a staggering 550% growth, from 2005 to 2010. Sri Lanka was the first country in the South Asian region to introduce , 3. The , published by the , has described Sri Lanka's economy as transitioning from the factor-driven stage to the efficiency-driven stage, and that it ranks 52nd in global competitiveness. Also, out of the 142 countries surveyed, Sri Lanka ranked 45th in health and primary education, 32nd in business sophistication, 42nd in innovation, and 41st in goods market efficiency. Sri Lanka ranks 8th in the , registering high levels of contentment and charitable behaviour in its society. In 2010, placed Sri Lanka at the top of its list of 31 places to visit. The classified Sri Lanka as an in 2010, and classified it as a in February 2011. Sri Lanka's road network consists of 35 and two and. The , operated by the state-run operator, , spans 1,447 kilometres 900 mi. Sri Lanka also has three deep-water ports, at , , and , in addition to the newest port being built at. The port at Trincomalee is the fifth largest natural harbour in the world: during World War II the British stated that they could place their entire navy in the harbour with room to spare. With a grant of 20 million dollars from the US and help from China, a space academy has been set up for the purpose of developing an indigenous space sector to launch satellites of other nations as well as of Sri Lanka. This dual use of launching technology will also serve to develop missile technology. On 26 September 2012 China launched Sri Lanka's first satellite, with plans for more launches in the coming years. Debt and IMF assistance During the past few years, the country's debt has soared as it was developing its infrastructure to the point of near bankruptcy which required a bailout from the IMF. Since early 2015, domestic debt increased by 12 percent and external debt by 25 percent. The central bank indicates its readiness to tighten the monetary policy stance further if inflationary pressures resurge or credit growth persists. The authorities intend to continue building up reserves through outright purchases while allowing for greater exchange rate flexibility. The banking sector is currently well capitalized. Steps are being taken to find a resolution mechanism for the distressed financial institutions. Going forward, there is a need to strengthen the supervisory and regulatory framework, and identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in the financial sector, particularly with regard to non-banks and state-owned banks. Sri Lanka has a of 17. Population density is highest in western Sri Lanka, especially in and around the capital. Nearly 50% of them were following independence in 1948. They are distinguished from the native Tamil population that has resided in Sri Lanka since ancient times. There are also small ethnic groups such as the of mixed European descent and from Southeast Asia. Moreover, there is a small population of who are believed to be the original indigenous group to inhabit the island. Most Buddhists are of the Sinhalese ethnic group. Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in the 2nd century BCE by Venerable. A sapling of the under which attained enlightenment was brought to Sri Lanka during the same time. The Thripitakaya , having previously been preserved as an oral tradition, was first committed to writing in Sri Lanka around 30 BCE. Sri Lanka has the longest continuous history of Buddhism of any predominantly Buddhist nation, with the having existed in a largely unbroken lineage since its introduction in the 2nd century BCE. During periods of decline, the Sri Lankan monastic lineage was revived through contact with and. Today, Hinduism is dominant in Northern, Eastern and Central Sri Lanka. Hindus are mainly Tamils. Most Muslims are who follow the school. Most followers of today are believed to be descendants of those Arab traders and the local women they married. The remaining Christians are evenly split between the and other. There is also a small population of immigrants from India who settled in Ceylon during the period of British rule, but this community has steadily dwindled in recent years. Religion plays a prominent role in the life and culture of Sri Lankans. The majority observe Days each month according to the , and and also observe their own holidays. In a 2008 , Sri Lanka was ranked the third most religious country in the world, with 99% of Sri Lankans saying religion was an important part of their daily life. Urban centres Main article: Sri Lankans have a of 77. The infant mortality rate stands at 8. Sri Lanka ranks first among southeast Asian countries with respect to commitment of , with 33 deaths per 100,000 persons. According to , poverty, destructive pastimes and inability to cope up with stressful situations, are the main causes behind the high suicide rates. Education The 's , named in memory of , Sri Lanka's premier playwright With a of 92. Its youth literacy rate stands at 98%, computer literacy rate at 35%, and primary school enrollment rate at over 99%. An education system which dictates 9 years of for every child is in place. The established in 1945, is a result of the initiative of and A. It is one of the few countries in the world that provide universal free education from primary to tertiary stage. Kannangara led the establishment of the Central Schools in different parts of the country in order to provide education to Sri Lanka's rural children. In 1942 a special education committee proposed extensive reforms to establish an efficient and quality for the people. However, in the 1980s changes to this system saw the separation of the administration of schools between the central government and the provincial government. Thus the elite are controlled directly by the and the provincial schools by the provincial government. Sri Lanka has approximately 9675 government schools, 817 private schools and. Sri Lanka has 15. A lack of responsiveness of the education system to labour market requirements, disparities in access to quality education, lack of an effective linkage between secondary and tertiary education remain major challenges for the education sector. A number of private, degree awarding institutions have emerged in recent times to fill in these gaps, yet the participation at tertiary level education remains at 5. The proposed private university bill has been withdrawn by the Higher Education Ministry after university students' heavy demonstrations and resistance. The served as Chancellor of in Sri Lanka from 1979 to 2002. Main article: Sri Lanka has an extensive road network for inland transportation. With more than 100,000 km of paved roads, it has one of the highest road densities in the world 1. These highways connect local communities together, by-passing busy and congested town centers. A and B grade roads are national arterial highways administered by Road Development Authority. C and D grade roads are provincial roads coming under the purview of the Provincial Road Development Authority of the respective province. The other roads are local roads falling under local government authorities. The rail network of Sri Lanka consists of main lines, coastal lines, and up-country lines. In addition, air- and water-based transportation modalities augment the inland transport of the country. Main articles: and The formerly is the oldest-running radio station in Asia, established in 1923 by just three years after broadcasting began in Europe. The station broadcasts services in Sinhalese, Tamil, English and. Since the 1980s, a large number of private radio stations have also been introduced. Broadcast television was introduced to the country in 1979 when the was launched. Initially, all Television stations were state-controlled, but private television networks began broadcasts in 1992. As of 2010 , 51 newspapers 30 Sinhala, 10 Tamil, 11 English are published and 34 TV stations and 52 radio stations are in operation. In recent years, in Sri Lanka has been alleged by media freedom groups to be amongst the. Alleged abuse of a newspaper editor by a senior government minister achieved international notoriety because of the unsolved murder of the editor's predecessor, , who had also been a critic of the government and had presaged his own death in a posthumously published article. Officially, the constitution of Sri Lanka guarantees as ratified by the United Nations. However, have come under criticism by , , , and the. A has accused both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government of during final stages of the civil war. Corruption remains a problem in Sri Lanka, and there is currently very little protection for those who stand up against corruption. The has documented who have undergone after detention by security forces in Sri Lanka, the second highest figure in the world since the Working Group came into being in 1980. The Sri Lankan government has confirmed that 6,445 of these are dead. Allegations of human rights abuses have not ended with the close of the ethnic conflict. She also said that, while in Sri Lanka, she had been allowed to go wherever she wanted, but that Sri Lankans who came to meet her were harassed and intimidated by security forces. In 2012, the UK charity reported that it had received 233 referrals of torture survivors from Sri Lanka for clinical treatment or other services provided by the charity. In the same year, published Out of the Silence, which documents evidence of torture in Sri Lanka and demonstrates that the practice has continued long after the end of the civil war in May 2009. Hindu devotees engaging in at a temple in The culture of Sri Lanka dates back over 2500 years. It is influenced primarily by and. Sri Lanka is the home to two main traditional cultures: the Sinhalese centred in the ancient cities of Kandy and Anuradhapura and the Tamil centred in the city of Jaffna. In more recent times, the British colonial culture has also influenced the locals. Sri Lanka claims a democratic tradition matched by few other developing countries. The first Tamil immigration was probably around the 3rd century BC. Tamils co-existed with the Sinhalese people since then, and the early mixing rendered the two ethnic groups almost physically indistinct. Ancient Sri Lanka is marked for its genius in and. The rich cultural traditions shared by all Sri Lankan cultures is the basis of the country's long life expectancy, advanced health standards and high literacy rate. Food and festivals Sri Lankan rice and curry Dishes include and curry, , , wholemeal , , wattalapam a rich pudding of Malay origin made of , jaggery, , eggs, and spices including cinnamon and , , and. Traditionally food is served on a. Middle Eastern influences and practices are found in traditional dishes, while Dutch and Portuguese influences are found with the island's Burgher community preserving their culture through traditional dishes such as Lamprais rice cooked in stock and baked in a banana leaf , Breudher Dutch Holiday Biscuit , and Bolo Fiado Portuguese-style layer cake. In April, Sri Lankans celebrate the and new year festival. Fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandian dances and various other cultural dances are integral parts of the festival. Christians celebrate on 25 December to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Tamils celebrate and , and Muslims celebrate and. Visual, literary and performing arts The was constructed as a major venue for the performing arts The movie The broken promise , produced by of Chitra Kala Movietone, heralded the coming of Sri Lankan cinema in 1947. Island of treasures, 1962 marked the transition cinema from to colour. It in the recent years has featured subjects such as family , social transformation and the years of conflict between the military and the. The Sri Lankan cinematic style is similar to movies. In 1979, movie attendance rose to an all-time high, but has been in steady decline since then. An influential filmmaker is , who has directed a number of movies which led to global acclaim, including Line of destiny, 1956 , The changing village, 1964 , The treasure, 1970 and Cold heart, 1968. Sri Lankan-Canadian poet , is the subject of a documentary on his life in Sri Lanka. His work is published in Sinhalese and English. Similarly, - , is well known for his English-language novels and three films. The earliest music in Sri Lanka came from theatrical performances such as Kolam, Sokari and Nadagam. Traditional music instruments such as Béra, Thammátama, Daŭla and Răbān were performed at these dramas. The first music album, Nurthi, recorded in 1903, was released through founded in 1925. Songwriters like and and musicians such as , , and have contributed much towards the upliftment of Sri Lankan music. A Low Country drummer playing the traditional Yak Béra There are three main styles of Sri Lankan classical dance. They are, the , low country dances and dances. Of these, the Kandyan style, which flourished under kings of the , is more prominent. It is a sophisticated form of dance, that consists of five sub-categories: Ves dance, Naiyandi dance, Udekki dance, Pantheru dance and 18 Vannam. An elaborate headdress is worn by the male dancers and a drum called Geta Béraya is used to assist the dancer to keep on rhythm. In addition, four folk drama variants named Sokri, Nadagam, Pasu, and several devil dance variants such as and Kohomba Kankariya can be also observed. The history of Sri Lankan painting and sculpture can be traced as far back as to the 2nd or 3rd century BC. The earliest mention about the art of painting on Mahavamsa, is to the drawing of a palace on cloth using cinnabar in the 2nd century BC. The chronicles have description of various paintings in relic-chambers of Buddhist stupas, and in monastic residence. The golden age of Sri Lankan drama and theatre began with the staging of Maname, a play written by in 1956. It was followed by a series of popular dramas like Sinhabāhu, Pabāvatī, Mahāsāra, Muudu Puththu and Subha saha Yasa. Sri Lankan literature spans at least two millennia, and is heir to the literary tradition as embodied in the hymns of the. The , the standard collection of in the tradition, was written down in Sri Lanka during the , at the Alulena cave temple, , as early as 29 BC. Ancient chronicles such as the Mahāvamsa, written in the 6th century, provide vivid descriptions of Sri Lankan dynasties. According to the German philosopher , the chronicles are based on Sinhala commentary , that dates few more centuries back. The oldest surviving prose work is the Dhampiya-Atuva-Getapadaya, compiled in the 9th century. The greatest literary feats of medieval Sri Lanka include Sandesha Kāvya poetic messages such as Girā Sandeshaya Parrot message , Hansa Sandeshaya Swan message and Salalihini Sandeshaya Myna message. Poetry including Kavsilumina, Kavya-Sekharaya diadem of poetry and proses such as Saddharma-Ratnāvaliya, Amāvatura Flood of nectar and Pujāvaliya are also notable works of this period, which is considered to be the golden age of Sri Lankan literature. The first modern-day novel, Meena, a work of Simon de Silva appeared in 1905, and was followed by a number of revolutionary literary works. Sports Main article: While the in Sri Lanka is , by far the most popular sport in the country is. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organise sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels. The achieved considerable success beginning in the 1990s, rising from status to winning the. They also won the played in Bangladesh, beating India in the final. In addition, Sri Lanka became the runners-up of the in and , and of the in and. Former Sri Lankan has been rated as the greatest ever by , and four Sri Lankan cricketers ranked 2nd , 4th , 5th and 11th highest ODI run scorers of all time, which is the best by a team. Sri Lanka has won the in , , , and. Sri Lanka once held highest team score in all three formats of cricket, where currently holds Test team total. The country co-hosted the Cricket World Cup in and , and hosted the. Sri Lankans have won two medals at , one silver, by at for men's and one silver by at for women's. In 1973, won the , the highest feat by a Sri Lankan in a. 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